Sewer sweep



Ml! 7 1940- R. 1'. QUICK l h2,199,651

mad July Azo. 19;? asusta-sheet 2 j invention relates broadlyto`apparatus for cleaning and clearing out pipes f. all kinds, and

particularly the cleaning of sewers, drainpipes, andthelikee..4 f It isan object of nur invention to provide an known methods and apparatus. Itis a further object of my invention to provide an apparatus of thatnature which can handle all types of 'cleaning fjobs and virtually all.sizes of pipes where stoppa'ges'occur.

It. is a Well-known facty that many industries l5 such as food-packingplantspbreweries, creameries, canneries, laundries, andithe like have,

chronic sewery trouble, and it is the purpose of this inventionv tolprovide adequate andsimple means for eliminating this condition byproviding 2 a simple, durable and economical apparatus which iscapableof cleaning all kinds of stoppages from all kinds of sewers. n 'sThe apparatus of my invention isof the general type disclosed in the U.S. patent to Magruder, No. 2,075,215 and as will become apparent fromthe following description of a preferred form of my device,'it embodiesvarious novel featuresand improvements directed toward the facileaccomplishment of the before-stated and other objects and advantages.

In the drawings: f Fig. 1 is a perspective of one preferred form of mycomplete apparatus, v

Fig. 2'is a side elevation 'of the main working parts thereof,

Fig. 3 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional planstaken on s the line 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5' is fragmentary elevation .taken at 5-5 o of Fig. 2, showing theclamping fingers in closed position,

' Fig. '6 is a view similar toFig. 5, but taken at 6--6 in Fig. 2 wherethe fingers are in open posi:- tion, and

Fig. '1 is a fragmentary plan oi?` a modied form' of my device.

Referring now to the d rawingsA and .particularly to Fig. 1 thereof,'the numeral II) indicates gen;

erally a main frame which may befprovided `with wheels Il as shown 'ormay'be stationary, "llhe frame I0 may'co'nveniently comprise al bdpWhile ithe co ruction ofthe reelcarriageA I9 l l l. mayvarylconsiderably, IA have found that a very 5 apparatus which Twillquickly yandsuccessfully 'remove obstructions f and clean,p ipe`s wherethe stoppage is virtually impossible to remove by other emcientstructure is provided when ,the carriage, l.

is formed of a pair of head plates 20 andZiia and four ,longitudinallyextending rods 2 I, secured to and between the headvplateslil and.y201i., the whole constitutii'ig a skeletonframework or carm riage I9.reel 2 2 is rotatably mounted'within `the, carriage I9' in anyconvenient mannersuch as onashaftq23lextending between'side plates A ior brackets 24 ,and 24a, fastened between opposed pairs oftheiiigitudmairodsjzl. is vAs 'mntionid `the carriage IS isfrevolublymounted inthe main frame I0 so'` that we'have a condition where'the reel22 is mounted for rota-V tion abouti its vnormal axis 23 and is also'adapted for revolution aboutthe central axis ofcarriage o I9 whichiscoincidental witha diameter of'the reel zz. 4iis will be explained in'detau hereinafter,"

the' ireer'zz is-adapd mhqida. con 'or wire '25', upon the free erid ofwhich a suitablepipe-cleaning `tool (not shown) isv fastened,` Iso that"rota- '25.

tionA of the reel upon its axial shaft 23 will feed the wirefrom, orwind it upon the reel 22, de-

pending uponthe direction of `rotation? They revolution of the'reelcarriage will rotate' the wire s 425 about itsy'longitudinal axis forthe purpose of 50 transmitting "a rotary motion to the saidlpipecleaning tool lasit is being advanced or' retracted in the pipebeing cleaned. For iiexible operationk of my apparatus, it is highlyadvisable that these two movements of the reel be'independent of each35' other so that theycan be individually controlled,

and I will now describe in 'detail my preferred form of accomplishingthisfunction.

As seenbest in Fig. 4, the trunjnion I 8 is'somewhat elongated, and,lappropriate driving means such as a pulley 26 is mounted thereonasbywthe key 29. The' pulley 26 maybe' connected by` a belty 30,' to anysuitablesource of gpower'sueli as 4the shaftof'a motor 3i mounted'onfthebed platef ll,r and aswill be evident; rotation of 4the p'ulley 26causes rotation of th'trunnion [8f and s reel-carriage i9.- Variablespeed meansI such as al variable diameter pulley I32'with aneiila'rgedlfiiib"l yfor :sleeve'nilay befoistbly, meunted on. th itrimmen |s and aelprbvigeagwith guimeiesbns Yto means i tended weersleev PTE'NT-TCICE appueacioiimy 2p. 1937, `serialiim;154,622"

" sgclaims. `(ci. 24a-54) f 3|, will cause rotation of the gear 36. Ahorizontal shaft 38 carrying a gear 31 adapted to mesh with gear 36 isjournaled in end plate 20 of the reel carriage I9, and is provided witha beveled pinion 39 on its other end disposed so as to mesh with abeveled ring gear 46 carried by the reel 22. It will, therefore, be seenthat I have by very simple means provided independent control means forthe revolution of the carriage I9 and the rotation of reel 22 therein,and furthermore that by making the pulley 32 adjustable I am enabled todrive both pulleys from the same source of power and yet vary theirrelative speeds 'through it instead oi trlmnion I8,fwithoutnecessitating any changein the othermechanism described."`

Referring now particularly1 to Figs., 2 and 3, it will be seen that thereel 22 comprisesa hub 4I.'s'pokes,42, and rim 43, and in additionthereto ,is provided with a series of radial lugs 44 arlranged in pairson each side of the rim adapted tojforlnra` housing or receptaclefor-the coiled wire 25,5'pr'eventing it from-sliding oflg'o'f the rim.-Whenfthe reel is rotated at high speedthere is,

of course-considerable force tendin'gto throw the wire oil the reel andlikewise if kthe wire is being fed into a pipe against obstructions, theresistance to the forward motion of the tool in the pipe tends to forcethe wire up and oif of the rim 43. To meet these conditions,` I providea series of resiliently lmounted clamping fingers 45, preferably onebetween each pair of radial lugs. Each finger 45 as best seen in Figs. 5and 6 is curved to generally conform to the outline of the wire on thereel 2 2, so that when the iinger is in closed or clamping position asshown in Fig. 5 the wire is' rmly held against the rim to ride on acircular cam-retaining track, to prevent the finger from opening. Twocam retaining tracks are provided, numbered 49 and 49a, one for the cam.rollers extending from one side of the rim and the other for the camrollers on the alternate lingers which extendfrom the other side of therim. By this'means a positive lock# is provided for each finger,preventing it'froni` I .opening beyond a certain point even thoughk thef As seen best in Fig. 2 the.'

spring 41 should fail. tracks 49 are not full circles, but have an opensegment facing the end of the carriage from' which the wire is to beled; and consequently ,when the fingers reach the end of the track 48 intheir travel they are freeto pivotabout the pin 46 until the cam roller48 again engages the track 49. If it is desired to have the fingers 45locked in all positions; i. e., for variousamounts of wire on the reel,the cam-retaining tracks 48 may be resiliently mounted in any suitablemanner to continually urge the lingers against the 2,199,651 is drivenby a ben. s1., from the shaft or motor rim 43. For example, the trackmay be formed of a relatively thin flexible band expansibly mounted on aplurality of segmental shoes which are resiliently mounted on thecarriage I9, appropriate spring means being provided to normally urgethem radially outward.

Obviously the wire 25 cannot be unwound from the reel unless the fingers'45 are opened, and to accomplish this function I provide camming rods50. and 50a, mounted on the carriage I8 and extending downwardly oneither side of the reel rim 43 in such a position as to be engaged bythe cam rollers 48, which, as they travel along the camming rods aredepressed and thus raise the" fingers 45 against the action of thesprings 41 to open position, allowing the wire 25 to pass from thevreel22 vout through appropriate means such as ,tube 5I to the hollowtrunnion I8.` As seen best in Fig. 2, the camming rods 50 and 50aengage'the cam rollers almost immediately after the latter are releasedby the tracks 45 and 49a respectively, and terminate just short of theother end of the tracks so that. after the lingers pass the point wherethe wie leaves the reel they are allowed to be closed by the springs 41and then-locked by subsequent engagement with the tracks 49 and 49arespectively.

The operation of mypreferred form of apparatus is as follows: l

A cleaning tool of suitable form is fastened to the free end of the wireextending beyond the I machine, the power source is energized, and byreason of belts and 51 the' pulleys 26 and trunnion I8 causes thereel-carriage I9 to revolve, and the pulley 32 causes rotation ofsleeve' 3a and gear as about the axis' of trunnion is. Asv long as thespeeds of rotation of the two pulleys 26 and 32 are the same, there willbe no relative motion of the gear 36 with respect to either the trunnionI8 or the gear 31 carried by shaft 38 in the reel-carriage I9. If it isdesired to'pay out the wire and feed it into a pipe to be cleaned, thespeed of the pulley 32 is increased by placing increased tension on thebelt 51 by any convenient means such as an idler pulley 53 which causesthe adjustable sheave to spread out against the force of spring 34 thusreducing the diameter of the pulley 32 and decreasing the ratio betweenit and the driving'pulley on the motor shaft. This increase in speed ofpulleyl 32 and its attached gear36 causes the gear 31 to rotate, whichin turn causes the reel 22 to rotate about its normal axis 23 to -payout the wire 25 which passes through guiding tube 5I and hollow trunnionI8 4to the pipe being cleaned. Alternativemeans for placing tension onthe belt is toprovide a variable sheave vpulley on the v`drive shaftalso and to vary its diameter manu--y ally to vary the belt tension'andhence' the speed of pulley 32;

'.When it is desired to withdraw the wire 25 if-from the pipe beingcleaned and rewind it. on

reel 22, the speed of pulley 32 is decreased below ythe-speed of` the:trunnion pulley 26 and relative motion of gear 31 is Ieiiected in an'opposite direction, causing the reel 22 to'again rotate on its axis 23but in a reverse direction.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have Iprovided simple andaccurate means -for independently controlling the operations required inthe functioning of my apparatus, for by merely varying the position ofthe idler roller 53, I can lcontrol the speed of longitudinal travel ofthe wire 25 in either direction. If it is alsodesired ample, asproviding 'a rheostat on theumotor to control its speed, by using a.variable sheave-pulother suitable meansj Likewise, if itis desired tleyat 26 with an idler pulley -such as 63, orby rotate the reel 22 tofeed thejwire 25 without rotating the carriage and wire,l -suitableclutch` means maybe provided forentirely 'disconnecting pulley 26from`trunnion I8 at will.

In the ordinary operation of my device, Ihave found ithighlyadvisablejto revolve the carriage I9 at a relatively high speed,land because of its inertia it rwill not stop readily upon shutting offthe power unless the cleaning tool at the moment is engaged with astubborn obstruction; Consequently, in the preferred form of myinvention, as illustrated herein, I provide the brake 21 'on the pulley26 which can be applied in such man-'- ner as to quickly stop furthermovement of reelcarriage I9 when the power has been shut on'.

It will be understood, of course, that the gear connections illustratedherein 'are merely examples of my preferred form and that variations canbe made therein which provide equivalent means for performing the samefunction. For instance, the gear36 instead of being constructed asshown, may be formed as a ring gear with the gear 31 acting as a. piniontherefor, and if desired can be made integral with the pulley 32 insteadof being separately keyed to the pulley hub or sleeve 33 as shown.Likewise, the gear 31 instead of being fastened directly to shaft 38 canbe moved outwardly and connected thereto by a set of bevel gears and anauxiliary shaft disposed transversely of the carriage. It will also beunderstood that the reel-driving means (pulley 32 and gear 36 in theforml shown) need' not necessarily be mounted directly on the trunforeffecting the revolution of the carriage I9."

A shaft 60, which is preferably solid, is rotatably mounted in hollowtrunnion I8 and carries pulley 32 keyed to its outer end and gear 36keyed to.-

its inner end which meshes with gear 31 carried on a shaft 3B as before.In this ease gears 36 and 31 are located inside of the carriage i9 butoperate the reel in the same manner as previously described. The twopulleys 26 and 32 may. be made .adjustable andSdriven from a commonpower shaft as before described or maybe provided with separatemotorseach equipped with a variable speed controlin known manner,

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention shown anddescribed herein are merely illustrative of the principles involved andare not to be taken as limiting the scope thereof to the details shown.

For instance, it will be evident that the bearing lI1 may 4be placedbetween the pulleys 26 and 32 if it is desired to shorten the length ofthe unsupported trunnion. Likewise, while I have shown and describedpulleys as the most eillcient means of driving the respective parts ofmy apparatus -it will `be understood that equivalent means such assprockets, gears, and the like can be used for transmitting power fromone shaft to another, and that various equivalent speed varye y alemanto vary'thespeed of the-carriage II,- this can be done'in severalconvenientways suchzfor ex- `ing devices may usedfor controlling therelaytive speeds ofthe carriage revolving means and the reel rotatingmeans. Consequently, it isintended that the scope of my invention shallbe determined by the'scope of the appended claims. I claim as myinvention: y

1. In pipe cleaning apparatus the combination of a frame; a revolublecarriage journaled in said frame by means of a pair of'trunnions oneofrl which is tubular; means on one of said trunnions for revolving saidcarriage; -a reel rotatably mounted in `said carriage on an axissubstantially at right angles `to that of said carriage, said reelybeing provided' with a plurality of pivoted fingers adaptedl to holdywire in place on said reel, said f fingers being'provided withoutwardly extending reel; and means rotatable about one of said trun`nions and connected to said reel for causing rotation of said reel onits normal-axis:`

2. In pipe cleaning apparatus the combination of: a frame; a revolublecarriage journaled in said frame by meansof a pair of trunnions one ofwhich is tubular; means on one of said trunnions for revolving lsaidcarriage; a reel rotatably mounted in said carriage on an axissubstantially at right angles to that of said carriage, said reel beingprovided with a plurality of pivoted fingers adapted to hold wire inplace on said reel, said fingers being provided with outwardly extendingarms; a. circular track disposed on said carriage so that said extendingarms can ride thereon during the greater portion of their travel toprevent said iingers'from opening away from said reel;

a camming rod mounted on said carriage and adapted to open said lingersduring a portion of their travel to allow said wire to leave said reel;and means rotatable about one of said trunnions and connected to saidreel for causing rotation of said reel on its normal axis.

3. In pipe cleaning apparatus the combination of a frame; a revolublecarriage journaled in said frame by means of a pair of trunnions one ofwhich is tubular; a pulley on one of said-trunnions adapted to rotatethe same and said carriage; a brake adapted to stop the rotation of saidcarriage; a pulley rotatably mounted on said trunnion and connected to agear also rotatably mounted on said trunnion; a reel rotatably mountedin said carriage on an axis substantially at right angles to that ofsaid carriage, said reel being provided with a plurality of pivotedlingers adapted to clamp wreon said reel; means mounted on said carriageseparate from and nonrotatable withrespect to said reel for preventingsaid fingers from opening until a predetermined point in their path oftravel has been reached; a shaft in said carriage, gear-connected tosaid reel to rotate the same on its normal axis; a gear on the other endof said shaft disposed to mesh with said gear on the trunnion; and meansfor driving said two pulleys independently o f each other to revolvesaid carriage and rotate said reel in said carriage at variable relativespeeds.

k-mounted on said trunnion; a reel rotatably reelnbeing provided with aplurality of pivoted 5 edng'ers ladaptedto] clamp wire on said reel.said iingers having outwardly extending arms; a circular track on saidcarriage adapted to engage) said arms to prevent said fingers fromopening during the greater portion of their travel; a shaft in saidcarriage, gear-connected to said reel to rotate the same on its normalaxis; a gear on the other end of said shaft disposed to mesh with saidgear on the trunnion; and means for driving said two pulleysindependently of each other to revolve said carriage and rotate saidreel in-said carriage at variable relative speeds.

5; In pipe cleaning apparatus, the combination with a revolublecarriage, a reel rotatable therein and means for revolving said carriageandrotating said reel, `oi! means i'or holding wire upon said reelcomprising a plurality of pivoted lingers l adapted t'o clamp wire onsaid'reel, and means mounted on said carriage separate from andnonotatable with respect to' saidreel for preventing said iingers fromvopening until a predetermined point in their path of travel has beenreached.

6. In pipe cleaning apparatus, the combination with a revolublecarriage, a reel rotatable therein and means for revolving said carriageand rotating said reel, of means for holding wire upon said reelcomprising a plurality oi pivoted fingers adapted `to clamp wire on saidreel, said lingers having outwardly-extending arms, said carriage beingprovided with a circular track adapted to engage said arms to preventsaid fingers from opening during the greater portion of their travel.

ROY T. QUICK.

